Sumobots, soccerbots and speedbots, oh my! RoboGames returns this weekend to the San Mateo Fairgrounds.

Known as the robot Olympics, RoboGames is an annual three-day celebration of automation that draws amateur and professional robot engineers from all over the world. It was founded by David Calkins, president of the nonprofit Robotics Society of America.

With more than 50 different events, competitors can compete in a wide range of robot categories such as sumo, combat, basketball and stair-climbing. The combat events draw the most spectators, but RoboGames encourages its contributors to work outside their comfort zones and explore different types of building.

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RoboGames will also feature a symposium series Saturday and Sunday, including talks by BotJunkie blog founder Evan Ackerman, professor James Kuffner of Carnegie Mellon University, and Ryan Calo of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society and the American Bar Association's Committee on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.